


Flowers and Stitches

by Katbelle



Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: Alien Planet, F/M, Flowers, Minor Injuries, Romance, Stitches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 13:59:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4062592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katbelle/pseuds/Katbelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tamara taught him how to do stitches. Varro tries to be useful around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flowers and Stitches

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fragged](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fragged/gifts).
  * A translation of [Szwy i kwiaty](https://archiveofourown.org/works/749748) by [Katbelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katbelle/pseuds/Katbelle). 



> The original fic was written as part of a ficathon. The prompt was a sentence from _Madame Bovary_ : "Then the difficulties of love-making seen in the distance made him by contrast think of his mistress."
> 
> Well. The Kat from four years ago was much milder in torturing her characters.

**Flowers and Stitches**

The colonel ordered him to be put into lockup until the moment Earth makes contact with them. He agreed without a comment; after all this time he has spent aboard _Destiny_ he knew that the quickest way to get things done peacefully was to agree to anything that Young deemed necessary. 

After giving the instructions to the senator and that scientist, he quietly went back to his quarters and allowed Lieutenant James to stand guard under his door. Tamara has offered to keep him company. It was perhaps the first time Varro and Young agreed on something and that something was a firm 'no'. They both knew that would be better for everyone involved. 

Varro was pacing his room nervously, marking a clear path from one side of the room to the other, eight meters in total. He hoped that the bomb would be defused safely, he had a personal interest in that. Of course, on the one hand it was all about the lives of hundreds of innocent people who were currently in danger. But on the other... It was quite nice to be able to move around the ship, to be able to visit the infirmary whenever he wanted. Those were his only sources of entertainment aboard the _Destiny_ — without them, he was quite frankly starting to go mad.

It didn't mean that his life was problem-free, of course it didn't. He was a member of the Lucian Alliance and the crew of _Destiny_ still — despite everything — saw him as one of the people who invaded their ship. People looked at him with fear or loathing whenever they saw him walking down the corridor, while Colonel Young looked ready to shoot him on sight whenever he found him near the infirmary.

The doors slid open and Young entered, flanked by Greer and James. Perhaps they had good news, perhaps soon he'll be able to leave and roam the ship once more, putting himself out there, ready for more glares and unkind comments.

Then the difficulties of trouble seen in the distance made him by contrast think of Tamara. 

Assuming Young comes bearing good news, he'll be able to see her again. Varro hasn't been this excited about the potential of seeing another human being ever since his wife died. It was a nice change from the suffocating and crippling loneliness — to want to be close to someone.

"Any news?" he asked, stopping in the middle of his pacing, somewhere between the bed and the mirror.

"We just got a report from Earth," Young said. "Colonel Telford relayed that they were able to defuse the bomb and find the stones."

Varro took a deep breath, marched over to his bed and collapsed onto the edge of it.

"That is wonderful news."

Young nodded. 

"Taking all that into consideration--I don't think keeping you here is strictly necessary anymore. You are free to leave. Without the detail." He turned towards the door. "And--Thank you. On behalf of everyone."

He left, and Greer trailed after him like a puppy. Lieutenant James stayed behind for a moment; she smiled, winked at him and murmured something that sounded vaguely like "good job". Varro smiled back.

After the door closed behind James' retreating form, he waited five minutes to be sure she disappeared. Then he left his room and made his way to the infirmary. The people he passed grimaced uncertainly in a weak imitation of a smile, but at least they didn't look at him as if they were seeing a murderer. Not anymore; the news of his involvement in making sure the latest Earth-bound crisis went away must have entered the rumour circulation by now.

Tamara was standing with her back to the entrance, busy with sorting through the medicine that was brought from the other _Destiny_. Varro grinned at the sight of her.

"Hello, stranger."

Tamara started, and almost dropped a vial that she was holding. Antibiotics. Varro swallowed thickly. If that vial — which they didn't have enough of — shattered, his future would have been uncertain at the least.

"Varro. The colonel has finally agreed to let you out?"

"Apparently he did think of that, yes."

Tamara put down the vial and sat down on one of the beds. She patted the spot beside her, in clear encouragement for him to take a sit next to her.

"I said that it was ridiculous," she said and swung her legs, "that if you wanted to do us harm, you wouldn't have told us about the bomb in the first place."

"Some people are just looking for a reason not to trust us," he said bitterly. "That and the fact that your colonel doesn't like me."

Tamara glanced at him and raised her brows inquiringly. Varro shrugged.

"I think _he_ think I spend too much time with you."

Tamara laughed and put her hand on top of his. It wasn't a delicate touch or a strong grip, it was just the weight of her hand on his, it just--was. It was meaningful in some way, thought Varro wasn't sure about what that way was exactly.

"Come," Tamara said. "I promised to teach you how to stitch someone up and I just found myself a knife wound accident."

***

Over the next couple of weeks Varro was promoted to the position of _Destiny_ 's top nurse, a fact that he used over and over again to talk Tamara into taking a bit of a break. At first she refused, arguing duty and a professional medical training and a diploma. Eventually she acquiesced and left Varro in the infirmary alone, one very boring afternoon when Lieutenant Scott and Greer and a couple of scientists went down to check out the newest planet. The weather down there was beautiful, they still had five hours before the ship jumped, everything seemed to be going perfectly.

"T.J., this is Scott," said the radio that Tamara left in the infirmary. "T.J., we have a situation."

Varro thought about going to get Tamara — who was, in fact, the only person on board holding a diploma in anything remotely medical — but decided against it. Tamara has spent the last three days by the bedside of Adam Brody, the latest victim of a power surge on the bridge. No one more than Tamara deserved to rest.

"It's Varro," Varro said, taking the radio in hand. "Tamara is busy at the moment, she cannot come. What happened?"

"I don't think the local animals are overly fond of us," Lieutenant Scott said. "A few of them attacked us, tried stabbing us with their horns. We have a couple of cuts, nothing serious."

"Come to the infirmary. Tamara has taught me how to put stitches, I can help."

Silence. Varro could just imagine Lieutenant Scott thinking hard on the other side of the connection, face scrunched in concentration and effort.

"Alright," he said at last. "Rush will need a couple of stitches, the rest will be fine on their own. I'll send him in a minute."

Varro put down the radio and waited. After a few very long minutes — during which Varro went over every possible outcome, starting with masterfully done stitches and ending with being the cause of death of the lead scientist — Doctor Rush entered the infirmary, holding his left arm.

Varro pointed him towards the bed closest to the door and went to get the needle and thread and the bandages.

"Rough day?" he asked as he cleaned the wound. It started on the man's shoulder and ran all the way across his shoulder blade to end on the opposite side.

Rush snorted.

"Yes, actually. We were attacked by something that looked like unicorns."

Varro hummed. He didn't know what unicorns were.

"This is interesting," Rush said suddenly.

"What is?"

"The last time we talked in private you told me that you'd kill me," he explained. "If I didn't find a way to dial _Destiny_."

"Well." Varro put down the gauze he used to clean Rush's wound. "You did find a way."

Rush flinched when Varro pierced his skin.

"You were right, though, in saying that this ship is just a rusty bucket," he carried on. "But being here is one of the most amazing experiences in my life. After my wife died, I didn't think anything good would ever happen to me again. And then--I ended up here, and for the first time in a _long_ time I feel--alive."

"I know the feeling," Rush whispered.

A sound of rushed footsteps came from the corridor and the door to the infirmary flew open, Colonel Young and Greer barged inside, both with their weapons drawn that they immediately pointed at Varro. Tamara entered right behind them.

"Just a second."

Varro tied up the last of the stitches, moved away from Rush and raised his hands. Young was looking at the scientist intently, as if he wanted a silent confirmation that everything was alright. Greer, on the other hand, kept glaring at Varro.

Tamara got irritated.

"I _said_ everything was under control. Varro is good at first aid, which is something I also said." She came up to Greer and forced him to lower his gun. "What is it that he could have done?"

"Why did you answer Scott's radio?" Young asked, ignoring Tamara's outburst completely.

"Because I was here and Tamara has just gone to rest," Varro explained calmly. "Lieutenant Scott told me that the only help needed was with a couple of stitches, and that is something I know how to do. I wanted to be useful."

"Rush?" Young turned to the mathematician.

Rush just nodded his confirmation. Young's eyes narrowed, but there was nothing he could complain about. He put away his gun — told Greer to do the same — apologised stiffly, and — with one last glance directed at Rush — left.

Huh.

Tamara shook her head with what looked like a mixture of pity and exasperation, and walked up to Rush. She looked at the stitched up wound, put on the bandage and told the scientist to come back and see her in a couple of hours. Varro, however, was sure that — once gone — Rush would never make it back to the infirmary.

"I'm sorry about the colonel," Tamara said quietly. "But he is right, you should have got me."

"You deserve to rest." 

Tamara smiled.

"Nice stitches."

"I had a great teacher."

***

In the evening — right after he hunted Rush down in an abandoned corridor and pushed a bottle of some painkillers into his hands — Varro knocked on Tamara's door and entered without actually waiting for an invitation. Tamara was standing over a box in which she put folded clothes.

"You're going somewhere?" he asked.

Tamara's head snapped up and she looked at him sadly.

"No," she said. "I'm packing Carmen's things. For _Destiny_ 's second baby."

She put the lid over the box and wrote the same on top. Varro took a step closer. Tamara frowned and her eyes narrowed in suspicion when she noticed him hiding something behind his back.

"What's that?"

"A surprise."

Varro took out a bouquet of bright turquoise flowers. Tamara inhaled sharply.

"Eli showed me a video from the planet," Varro explained, "and I thought that you might like them. As I am not allowed to leave the ship, I asked Lieutenant James to pick some for me." He handed the flowers to Tamara, awkwardly. "These are for you."

"Thank you," she said, accepting the bouquet. "They're beautiful. I'm impressed."

"Well, it's honestly all your doing."

Tamara tipped her head back and laughed.

"You're beautiful when you're laughing," Varro said before his brain caught up with his mouth and managed to stop this from happening. Oh, well. "You--You should do it more often."

She took a step closer to him.

"Perhaps if I'll have the opportunity--"

Tamara put the turquoise flowers on her bed, leaned in and kissed him. It was more of a peck, really, just a soft placement on her lips on his. Very nice, though.

"Thank you for the flowers," she said quietly and didn't mean the flowers only.

"You're welcome, stranger."


End file.
